Who am I?

I’m a biological Democrat. I served as Virginia Chair of the presidential campaigns of Bill Clinton, John Kerry and Howard Dean. My family and I door-knocked for Barack Obama in Iowa in 2008 and was Mid-Atlantic Finance Chair for President Obama’s re-election campaign. During my time as Lieutenant Governor, I worked for greater rights for persons with disabilities, stronger enforcement against deadbeat dads, defense of reproductive rights and passage of pro-business reforms while chair of the Virginia Economic Recovery Commission. I’ve also always tried to give back by working on high school dropout prevention, Meals on Wheels deliveries, and the prevention of teen pregnancy.

I’m a third generation Northern Virginian, and I have spent my life trying to make Virginia better and America stronger. From Richmond to Washington, from Northern Virginia to Europe, I bring proven leadership, principled ideals, and progressive ideas to this seat. I invite you to be part of our campaign and I know that, together, we will be successful.

Why am I running?

I have always believed that it's our responsibility to make the world a better place, and to work as hard as we can to make a better future for our children.

My whole career has been based on treating people with respect, dignity, and honesty.

As the owner of a business in Northern Virginia (Don Beyer Volvo and eight other dealerships), I've worked to make our community better by chairing the Alexandria Community Trust, serving the Falls Church area as President of the Chamber of Commerce, and as Vice-President of the Child Development Center.

For fifteen years, I chaired Virginia’s most effective high school dropout prevention program, and for three years I was president of Youth for Tomorrow, the renowned home for adolescent boys and girls in trouble. My family dealerships have made enormous investments in our communities for 40 years, from mentoring programs to Meals on Wheels.

As Lieutenant Governor, I stood up to the NRA, anti-abortion rights groups, and those who are polluting our environment.

Serving our country, our Commonwealth, and our community was a great honor. Now I want to serve our community again as our member of Congress.

My Goals

On the issues that matter most, I will work with President Obama and fight for our progressive values. Three examples of where I plan to focused are:

1. We need to pass the President’s infrastructure bill, raise the minimum wage, and stop the partisan games in Congress that threaten our country’s financial status.

2. Last year, U.S. gun deaths numbered 11,419. We must demand comprehensive background checks, close the gun show loophole, and ban high capacity magazines. I stood up to the NRA in the past, and I'll do it again in Congress.

3. I will always defend a woman’s right to choose. The Republicans are once again playing politics with women’s health care - a personal decision and right that should never be subject to the whims of Ted Cruz or Mitch McConnell.

From Richmond to Washington, from Northern Virginia to Europe, I bring proven leadership, principled ideals, and progressive values to this office.

My DFA Values

I have a record of proven, principled and progressive leadership. I campaigned around the country for Barack Obama, and Howard Dean is doing an event for our campaign. I’ve worked with President Obama as his Ambassador to Switzerland—fighting tax evasion and cracking down on Swiss bank secrecy. As lieutenant governor, I stood up to the Republicans in Richmond and blocked their ongoing efforts to interfere in women’s health care decisions and outlaw a woman’s right to choose.

I was proud of working on Mark Warner’s “Forward Together” campaign. And as a businessman, I’m proud of the work we’ve done to give back to the community, everything from mentoring programs to Meals on Wheels. And as one of the first, if not the only, auto dealers to provide paid maternity leave to my employees, I understand how important it is to support and encourage more women in leadership and business, and if elected I’ll work to ensure Congress passes the Paid Family Medical Leave and Fair Paycheck Act.

I think given what I have done and the issues I intend to continue to fight for, my principled, progressive values are a great match for DFA and it's supporters.

My Campaign is People Powered!

My campaign plans to reach out to all different groups across the district. I live in Alexandria, our office is based in Fairfax, my business is based in Falls Church, and our campaign treasurer lives in Arlington. We have already attended the Democratic Committee meetings of every local jurisdiction. And we have put together dozens of house parties so that neighbors can reach out to neighbors about our campaign and share our message. At the end of the day, we know those personal touches are the most influential.

I'm so honored to have volunteers coming into the office daily and friends new and old offering their help. We have sent letters, made phone calls, and knocked doors, and we will continue to try to reach every voter in this Democratic Primary before June 10th. The support of DFA would be instrumental in helping us continue to reach out and invite the community to be a part of this journey.

Voice support

About the Endorsement Process

The driving force behind all DFA endorsements is our members. We recognize that all politics is local and that what is considered progressive in Los Angeles may be very different from what's considered progressive in Louisville. For this reason, DFA does not have a litmus test of specific progressive positions for which a candidate must stand. Our endorsement is heavily weighted based on these questions:

• Will the candidate move the progressive movement forward in their community?
• Does the candidate have substantial support from our local members?
• Do the candidate's positions and policies fit into the broader progressive movement?
• Is the campaign people-powered and the candidate working to win?

If you have questions, or want to let us know about a candidate in your neighborhood, please call us at (802) 651-3200 or email us at [email protected] .